After Sunday’s NFL matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa caused a bit of a stir by photobombing his teammate’s interview while wearing a white “Make America Great Again” hat. A family of 49ers fans almost missed that game because a man was wearing a red MAGA hat, and a Levi’s Stadium security team member approached them after they’d scanned in tickets and passed through security checkpoints and told him to “either throw away the hat or leave the stadium.”
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Part of their experience was caught on video:
@ailynnespino So what was meant to be a fun first time experience for our kids turned out to be an eye opener to us. I wasnt going to share but even after seeing the field state “vote it takes all of us” and bosa flashing his hat in the camera I felt we were being discrminated against. This is usually stuff you see on social media but never a thought it would happen to you. We are so disappointed in @San Francisco 49ers Levis Stadium. We were stopped after we scanned in tickets and security check points, by one male asking my husband to either throw away the hat or leave the stadium. It lead to 30-45 min of arguing and missing the beginning of the game just for the supervisor to let us through. Thank you too all the people who stopped and spoke up as this happened. #MAGA #levisstadium #vote #election #49ers #veteran @President Donald J Trump @J.D. Vance ♬ original sound – ailynnespino
In the video, you can see other fans speaking up in support of the family as they ask under which rule he was being asked to throw out his hat. Eventually, a supervisor comes out to talk to the group and says something about it being a “hostile” game, and that’s why the man was being asked not to wear the hat (but it’s difficult to hear). The woman said that eventually they were allowed into the game, but they missed the kickoff.
The woman wrote (spelling/punctuation original):
So what was meant to be a fun first time experience for our kids turned out to be an eye opener to us. I wasnt going to share but even after seeing the field state “vote it takes all of us” and bosa flashing his hat in the camera I felt we were being discrminated against.
This is usually stuff you see on social media but never a thought it would happen to you. We are so disappointed in @San Francisco 49ers Levis Stadium.
We were stopped after we scanned in tickets and security check points, by one male asking my husband to either throw away the hat or leave the stadium. It lead to 30-45 min of arguing and missing the beginning of the game just for the supervisor to let us through.
Thank you too all the people who stopped and spoke up as this happened. #MAGA #levisstadium #vote #election #49ers #veteran @President Donald J Trump @J.D. Vance
There are a lot of questions that will undoubtedly have some answers as this clip goes viral, but, was this a rogue security officer? It doesn’t seem like it by the supervisor’s first interaction with the family. Perhaps the 49ers were trying to avoid the same kind of backlash the Dodgers felt when some snowflake liberals were chagrined that a woman wearing a MAGA hat was “allowed” to sit behind home plate during the first game of the World Series?
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In the code of conduct for Levi’s Stadium there’s a prohibition on offensive clothing but not on clothing with a political message. There are two (likely purposely) vague catch-all provisions security could have possibly invoked in this situation:
- Other actions that cause a disruption and/or hinder the enjoyment of the event.
- Any behavior that impairs the safety and/or enjoyment of the event from other guests.
It wouldn’t have been smart for the team to attempt to use either of those catch-all provisions, though, because they’d be starting down an extremely slippery slope.
After Bosa’s photobomb, he was asked about the hat “with what appeared to be a political statement,” and had an appropriate response.
Nick Bosa on his MAGA hat statement: “I’m not gonna talk too much about it, but I think it’s an important time.” pic.twitter.com/NgHx6GJcH6 https://t.co/o9ZGmUse87
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 28, 2024
It is a very important time, and it’s important for people to stand up and call out these authoritarian lunatics who think the only type of speech that should be allowed is the speech they agree with. I’m grateful for people like Nick Bosa who are willing to take the slings and arrows of the left for simply wearing a hat with a patriotic sentiment – their courage is contagious.
UPDATED 9:35 PM, 10/28/24:
A few readers have had difficulty viewing the embedded TikTok video, so here is the video as shown on Twitter.
Holy Sh*t.
This family was denied entry at the 49ers game because they were wearing Trump hats. Security told them to throw away the hat or leave.
They fought back and were eventually let in. Disgusting! pic.twitter.com/eahNuadwBo
— AG 🔥 (@Yolo304741) October 28, 2024
